World Heart Federation: A healthy heart relies on your feet

The World Heart Federation wants men, women and children around the world to get up and start getting fit for World Heart Day on Sept. 29. They are even launching a new app to help keep track of fitness goals. That’s because, according to a federation study, between 14 and 37 percent of adults in six countries are not aware of how much they walk every day.

“Awareness is the first step to a healthy heart. Paying attention to how much we walk should be as simple as watching what we eat,” said Kathryn Taubert, PhD, chief science officer of the World Heart Federation, in a press release. “On World Heart Day, we are urging people to take action to protect their hearts. By reaching the recommended guideline of minimum 30 minutes of moderate exercise, which includes brisk walking at least five days a week, many premature deaths can be prevented.”

The study found that 33 percent of adults in the U.S. and U.K. are not aware of how much they walk every day compared with almost 17 percent of adults in India. Of the overall study population from all six countries, 55 percent of people said they take a brisk walk for less then 30 minutes a day.

In response, the World Heart Federation is launching a new free app on World Heart Day that keeps track of how much walking people do. The app, called Ground Miles, enables people to determine the distance they walk. To download the app, search for "Ground Miles" in the Apple or Android App Store.

Their goal is not only get people walking more—the federation said it hopes to encourage people to walk a collective 5 million miles by the end of the year.